This course offers an action-oriented introduction to Giving Voice to Values (or GVV), an exciting new approach to values-driven leadership development in the workplace, in business education and in life.
GVV is not about persuading people to be more ethical, but instead it starts from the premise that most of us already want to act on our values, but that we also want to feel that we have a reasonable chance of doing so effectively. Through positive, real life examples, pre-scripting, rehearsal and peer coaching, GVV builds the skill, the confidence and likelihood that we will act on our values more often and more successfully. Based on research and practice, with over 1,000 pilots in educational settings and companies on all seven continents, GVV helps answer the questions: “What if I were going to act on my values? What would I say and do? How could I be most effective?”
You will come away from this course with an expanded toolkit, as well as practice, in a variety of methods and techniques for voicing and enacting your own values and principle. You will develop and practice leadership skills in "peer coaching” with other Learners. Through cases and stories based on recognizable workplace, classroom and life values conflicts, you will apply the GVV techniques and “re-frames”, expanding your repertoire for possible action as well as identifying and rehearsing responses that are likely to be most effective. Through this practice, you will gain greater confidence and competence in voicing and enacting your values effectively.

From the lesson

What is Giving Voice to Values? Why and How it Works

Welcome to week one of the course! What kinds of values conflicts have you experienced in your life? Has there been a time in your life where you have been faced with a values conflict and didn't know how to speak up, or what to say? During this week, you'll first be introduced to a story called The Client That Fell Through the Cracks. This story provides an example of the kind of values conflict that we all can encounter in the workplace, and how to address it by effectively acting on your values. Next, you'll explore what Giving Voice to Values (GVV) is and who uses it. You'll hear from practitioners in business, higher education, and the military in regards to why and how they used GVV to address their workplace challenges. We'll discover how research informs GVV in developing a moral muscle memory, and how this innovative approach is different from traditional approaches to ethics. Then you'll be briefly introduced to the seven pillars that form the foundation of GVV. Finally, we'll spend some time examining in more depth the first two pillars, Values and Purpose. By the end of this module, you'll realize in the face of values conflicts there is power and impact in asking yourself a new question, "What if I was going to act on my values--what would I say and do?"